Uncle dans leg wrote:Campbell isn't Ballard. Not even close. He'd be leading our team in goals and points by a d-manRibiero would be leading our team in goals, points and powerplay goals

They would be an instant boost.

Well if we could trade in Campbell for Ballard I'd do it. He is nice threat on the PP, Campbell.

My trade would be Luongo and Booth back to FLA for BC and Mattias. Booth still has quite a few fans there and Tallon owes us

Seriously, I still don't think Booth is the problem. Besides his cap hit, he is the type of players that the Canucks need. Someone who is willing to drive to the net. If Booth has a playmaking centreman, he would be scoring again. As I said before, Lapierre is a good 4th line centreman and can play the 3rd line a bit. However, he is the freaking second line centre on this team right now...

Oh but now he had GREAT chemistry with Garrison......lets get him and his $7.14 mil per year through 2015-16.

Too bad it didn't work...he has the cup ring to prove it!The team needs someone who can dish like Campbell, QB the PP, feed JG for his 100 mile an hour one timer. If we cashed in on even 10% more of the powerplays this year we aren't having this conversation.

If its a Luongo for Campbell swap we are ahead. RL isn't adding much wearing the ball cap. Trade 9 years at 5.3 of 3 years at 7.1. I do it.

Where's the forecheck? Where's the speed? Where are the freaking hits? Right now we could use a Torpedo Torres out there to inject some freaking energy into the group. The only players who have laid decent hits the last several games are Alberts and Booth. Everybody else is playing like pansy asses.

Where's the "process" AV is always going on about? Right now the process freaking sucks.To me, this is still just a slump. If any major changes can even be made during the season, the only viable one would be coaching. I don't see major trades happening while nearly every team is in the playoff race.

I've got a bit of a conspiracy theory, probably will get grilled for it, but I don't care. I'll share it anways, just a theory. I noticed that ever since Malhotra was pushed out, the team's play did drop a bit. MM was a leader on the team, was popular in the room and brought some savy to the team (especially on the faceoff dot). Maybe the team the misses him and is a lil disheartened with the way it played out. Afterall, the puck in the eye could of happened to any of those guys and if they were pushed out like that, it would really be the shitz for any one of those guys. I think we miss him on the ice too, especially with Kes out. MM and Lap-Dawg really worked well together on the #3 and #4 centre spot. MM was a solid vet with alot of xp and great on dot; Lap-Dawg is a hard-working guy with grit and energy to his game. Without MM, Lap-dawg has to take most of the defensive zone faceoffs and is needed to play some inportant shut down situations. I think most would agree that Lap-Dawg is struggling right now and is in over his head.

Theory aside, maybe we are failing to mention the most obvious thing that us as fans hate to admit or say, maybe this team has past it's time. We all know this team reached it's pinnacle in 2011. Sedin's were in their primes, we had amazing depth throughout the lineup: Ehrhoff, Salo, Rome. We basically made it to the finals without some key players like Malhotra, Samuelsson and Ballard (paid to be a key player anyways). We missed our chance, that was our best team to win a cup and we'll never have a team that good for long time. Right now, the whole team is in a funk. The sedins seem to be on the decline and will probably never be all-stars again, we're really hurtin at centre ice (especially with Kes and MM out) and we can't find any consistency in our defensive pairings. Also, we have 2 great goalies, but we can only play 1 of them at a time and even they can't make up for the poor play in front of them.

I really hope this team will get out of it's funk. We already at the half-way mark. We're barely hanging on to a playoff spot and Minny tied us for the division lead. We really don't want to lose the division title and be among the bottom teams battling for the 6th-7th-8th playoff spots. It's such a crap shoot there, hit n miss, losing control of your own destiny. I'd hate to believe that just 2 years ago, this team was a serious cup contender and now can't even make the playoffs. I think for the time being, MG has to go out and get someone to help out @ centre ice. Doesn't have to be a big name guy, even a rental guy to help out just till Kes comes back. I noticed Ebbett was called up today, good move, but it's not enuff. Despite the current slide, I hope the Nucks will still make the playoffs. The team is showing signs that they're not a strong cup contender anymore even with a healthy lineup and I doubt we'll get anything significant with the Luongo asset (at least not for this season). Even though we're not a top team anymore, I hope we can still make the playoffs and maybe last a couple rounds with a hot player and some lucky bounces.

Uncle dans leg wrote:Seriously though...WTF? We surely are on a huge skid and I have no doubt the roster needs a boost but writing this team off now is ridiculous. -This is the same core that has dominated the league for 3+ years. -They have enjoyed all kinds of success, both regular season and playoffs. -They have 3 and a half(Jennings) major trophy winners in the line up who have underachieved since that all-too-famous redemption game (Boston Jan/12).-They can beat anyone when on their game but unfortunately lose to anyone when off.

This is still a very strong team wearing Canucks colours and every single last team we play knows this.

In my opinion what's needed is an infusion of dynamic energy to the top 6 and a puck moving d-man who can run the PP and settle things down from the point. 2 players that come to mind for me are Mike Ribiero in Washington and Brian Campbell in FLA.

MR is on fire on a team who is down in the standings. He's headed to UFA after this year so might be available if they fall out of the running before Apr 2. His energy, skill and swagger would be more than welcome on this team.

BC has a huge sticker price but a swap of RL for him could have instant benefits all over the ice. He has 3 more years(I think) left on his contract but this is a legitimate #1 d-man who makes everbody on the team better. He ran a helluva good PP last year which featured setting up Jason Garrisons one timers. FLA could be interested in this kind of deal for Luongo I suspect and I bet including Booth in the swap isn't out of the question.

These trades would definitely improve the roster but I'm not sure how we could fit them under the cap. Gillman has proven to be a superstar when it comes to weaseling room out of a loaded roster so I have faith he can pull it off. Obviously we would be unloading Ballard and maybe even Booth for cap space but if this team is going to make a serious push for the cup while the Sedins are still able to play at a high level, this is the kind of changes I feel we will need to make.

Thoughts?

A BIG HELL NO to Mike Riberio and Brian Campbell.

Riberio is the league's biggest whiner and diver. His attitude blows. There is a reason Dallas didn't keep him around.

Campbell is way too much for what you get, and I don't want to try to replicate something that may have been a one-shot deal with him and Garrison. Those are the worst ideas I have ever seen you toss out there Dan.

Todd Bersnoozi wrote:Theory aside, maybe we are failing to mention the most obvious thing that us as fans hate to admit or say, maybe this team has past it's time. We all know this team reached it's pinnacle in 2011. Sedin's were in their primes, we had amazing depth throughout the lineup: Ehrhoff, Salo, Rome. We basically made it to the finals without some key players like Malhotra, Samuelsson and Ballard (paid to be a key player anyways). We missed our chance, that was our best team to win a cup and we'll never have a team that good for long time. Right now, the whole team is in a funk. The sedins seem to be on the decline and will probably never be all-stars again, we're really hurtin at centre ice (especially with Kes and MM out) and we can't find any consistency in our defensive pairings. Also, we have 2 great goalies, but we can only play 1 of them at a time and even they can't make up for the poor play in front of them.

I'll be the first to say that as a fan I often think too much of this team and consider them to be better than they actually are.

That being said.....

The Kings won last year. They were a shit team and couldn't put two wins together to save their crowns until Sutter came along and made them defensively astonishing and taught them how to play playoff hockey. They did this from about a week or two after he arrived right up until game 6 of the finals. Their team is not better than ours, maybe as good, but not better.

The Canucks lost in 2011 and 2012 to teams that were willing to play tougher and more physical hockey.

In both series the Canucks could have turned things around but came up empty on offense, especially on the PP. In 2011 they got out coached, out muscled, and were beat up. In 2012 they simply got out coached and out worked. None of the teams that have won the Stanley Cup in the last 3 years have been more talented or boasted as much depth as the 2010/11 and 2011/12 Canucks.

Get a coach in here that can actually do the job and use the pieces he is given. Not a coach who can't make a chocolate sundae out of ice-cream, chocolate, and whipped cream because he doesn't have crushed peanuts to make it just right. Fuck that. Vigneault has always had an excuse. He didn't have the offensive punch for the first few years. Then he didn't have the depth on the blueline. Then it was injuries and he was missing a bonafide shutdown center for a checking line. Last year it was no Daniel. Gimme a break. I've never heard a coach make so many excuses.

Wanna right the ship and get it on course? Fire this coach and get a guy in here with a pair who can whip these soft pussies into shape and make them tow the line. A coach who will bench Edler when he plays like shit, not hold his hand and give him more minutes and tell him what an all-star he is. A coach who pulls the goalie after 3 goals in the first period, even when it's not the goaltender's fault.....a coach willing to throw a guy under the bus for a game if it means getting the win for the team. A coach who can coach a dynamic offense, not the static circle jerk that everyone has come to expect from Vancouver.

Meds wrote:Those are the worst ideas I have ever seen you toss out there Dan.

hey! Before you run it down too bad...consider this;Ribiero is a total douchebag but he's not marrying your sister, he's adding some much needed scoring and skill to a line up starved for a spark. He's UFA on a team that's looking like they may miss the show (available?) He would be leading the Canucks in all offensive categories.He is a Marchand-esque asswipe who would absolutely 100% guaranteed give a stale Canucks team a deserately needed boost of offense.He is a rental. Period. The price tag is the only possible negative I can see

As far as Campbell goes...Last year wan not his one-off breakout, he's been a star for years.Our powerplay is losing us games and he happens to be EXACTLY what we lack.The Garrison factor isn't exactly irrelevant seeing as they had excellent chemistry and JG is around for 5 more at 4.6

Ok, I know these are a bit out there but can you honestly say adding those pieces(depending on the price of course) wouldn't dramatically improve the team?

Meds wrote:Get a coach in here that can actually do the job and use the pieces he is given. Not a coach who can't make a chocolate sundae out of ice-cream, chocolate, and whipped cream because he doesn't have crushed peanuts to make it just right. Fuck that. Vigneault has always had an excuse. He didn't have the offensive punch for the first few years. Then he didn't have the depth on the blueline. Then it was injuries and he was missing a bonafide shutdown center for a checking line. Last year it was no Daniel. Gimme a break. I've never heard a coach make so many excuses.

Wanna right the ship and get it on course? Fire this coach and get a guy in here with a pair who can whip these soft pussies into shape and make them tow the line. A coach who will bench Edler when he plays like shit, not hold his hand and give him more minutes and tell him what an all-star he is. A coach who pulls the goalie after 3 goals in the first period, even when it's not the goaltender's fault.....a coach willing to throw a guy under the bus for a game if it means getting the win for the team. A coach who can coach a dynamic offense, not the static circle jerk that everyone has come to expect from Vancouver.

Meds wrote:Get a coach in here that can actually do the job and use the pieces he is given. Not a coach who can't make a chocolate sundae out of ice-cream, chocolate, and whipped cream because he doesn't have crushed peanuts to make it just right. Fuck that. Vigneault has always had an excuse. He didn't have the offensive punch for the first few years. Then he didn't have the depth on the blueline. Then it was injuries and he was missing a bonafide shutdown center for a checking line. Last year it was no Daniel. Gimme a break. I've never heard a coach make so many excuses.

Wanna right the ship and get it on course? Fire this coach and get a guy in here with a pair who can whip these soft pussies into shape and make them tow the line. A coach who will bench Edler when he plays like shit, not hold his hand and give him more minutes and tell him what an all-star he is. A coach who pulls the goalie after 3 goals in the first period, even when it's not the goaltender's fault.....a coach willing to throw a guy under the bus for a game if it means getting the win for the team. A coach who can coach a dynamic offense, not the static circle jerk that everyone has come to expect from Vancouver.

This is the first time this team has had play this bad. They will either rise to it or fold. My money is on the rise, but I got to agree about the coach. I like AV but he is stale. The team needs a shakeup and is too good to miss the playoffs.

I agree on your point that (if the Canucks miss the play-offs) then AV will most likely loose his job. After that there is a good chance that MG only has a year or two to make things right with a new coach before he gets fired too.

wafflecombine wrote:I agree on your point that (if the Canucks miss the play-offs) then AV will most likely loose his job. After that there is a good chance that MG only has a year or two to make things right with a new coach before he gets fired too.

It's not so much whether we make the playoffs. If they do (and they should). How deep? That's the problem right now. How deep can AV make his players play? We have the talent. We have (allegedly) two top starting goalies. Two league leading scorers, depth at D (allegedly). So if we make it then there are no excuses this time for either AV or his foot hooker GMMG.

There is no such thing as climate change...there is no such thing as climate change...there is such thing as climate change...

Todd Bersnoozi wrote:I've got a bit of a conspiracy theory, probably will get grilled for it, but I don't care. I'll share it anways, just a theory. I noticed that ever since Malhotra was pushed out, the team's play did drop a bit. MM was a leader on the team, was popular in the room and brought some savy to the team (especially on the faceoff dot). Maybe the team the misses him and is a lil disheartened with the way it played out. Afterall, the puck in the eye could of happened to any of those guys and if they were pushed out like that, it would really be the shitz for any one of those guys. I think we miss him on the ice too, especially with Kes out. MM and Lap-Dawg really worked well together on the #3 and #4 centre spot. MM was a solid vet with alot of xp and great on dot; Lap-Dawg is a hard-working guy with grit and energy to his game. Without MM, Lap-dawg has to take most of the defensive zone faceoffs and is needed to play some inportant shut down situations. I think most would agree that Lap-Dawg is struggling right now and is in over his head.

I think you may have a point there.AV and MG screwed up by carrying TWO D-men in the press box for the first 12 - 15 games, there's no reason why you couldn't leave Barker in the AHL, to be called up only if we lose a 2nd starting D-men. This way, you don't need to put Manny on IR to open up a roster spot.

I can understand why GMMG doesn't think Manny can still perform (other than faceoffs) but having him with the team right now might be a better option than any other

Meds wrote:I'll be the first to say that as a fan I often think too much of this team and consider them to be better than they actually are.

That being said.....

The Kings won last year. They were a shit team and couldn't put two wins together to save their crowns until Sutter came along and made them defensively astonishing and taught them how to play playoff hockey. They did this from about a week or two after he arrived right up until game 6 of the finals. Their team is not better than ours, maybe as good, but not better.

The Canucks lost in 2011 and 2012 to teams that were willing to play tougher and more physical hockey.

In both series the Canucks could have turned things around but came up empty on offense, especially on the PP. In 2011 they got out coached, out muscled, and were beat up. In 2012 they simply got out coached and out worked. None of the teams that have won the Stanley Cup in the last 3 years have been more talented or boasted as much depth as the 2010/11 and 2011/12 Canucks.

Get a coach in here that can actually do the job and use the pieces he is given. Not a coach who can't make a chocolate sundae out of ice-cream, chocolate, and whipped cream because he doesn't have crushed peanuts to make it just right. Fuck that. Vigneault has always had an excuse. He didn't have the offensive punch for the first few years. Then he didn't have the depth on the blueline. Then it was injuries and he was missing a bonafide shutdown center for a checking line. Last year it was no Daniel. Gimme a break. I've never heard a coach make so many excuses.

Wanna right the ship and get it on course? Fire this coach and get a guy in here with a pair who can whip these soft pussies into shape and make them tow the line. A coach who will bench Edler when he plays like shit, not hold his hand and give him more minutes and tell him what an all-star he is. A coach who pulls the goalie after 3 goals in the first period, even when it's not the goaltender's fault.....a coach willing to throw a guy under the bus for a game if it means getting the win for the team. A coach who can coach a dynamic offense, not the static circle jerk that everyone has come to expect from Vancouver.

Yep, we need a coaching change.

We also need a long term plan to get a legitimate 3rd line center in here, someone who gives a 3rd line a decent scoring threat, and who can pinch-hit on the 2nd line in Kes isn't playing. Clearly Lappy isn't the answer.We have some good quality 2nd/3rd line wingers like Hansen, Raymond & Higgins, with a skilled 3rd line center we can get that line going.

It's quite simple for me, we have an A-1 first line but is getting older and a little bit predictable and are no longer 'top of the points leader board' players anymore. Where Gillis has fucked things is after the Sedin line, bottom line. Kesler seems to be a a shadow of his former self, which was evident when his return to the line-up failed to inject any life on to the team. Booth is just fucking useless and not doing what he and his 4.5 million were supposed to be doing. We need something like what the Wild are getting from kids like Coyne and Brodin. The Sedins are at the stage now where we need some better support and new fresh blood to inject some culture onto this team, same old, same old. A new coach is only bandaid solution, won't stop the bleeding over the long haul, Gillis needs to do his job and bring new fresh talent and life to this team and the players he has tried that with have for the most part failed to add any life. This is still relatively good team but certainly not a cup contender, anymore. Too many good teams now in the West.

And what is the fucking deal with this team and injuries???

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